"I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." ~ C. S. Lewis (Yes, even politics)

In loving memory of Mr. Z

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Obama and JOBS.........OOOOPS!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack H. Obama's promise Thursday that everything in his jobs plan will be paid for rests on highly iffy propositions.

It will only be paid for if a committee he can't control does his bidding, if Congress puts that into law and if leaders in the future - the ones who will feel the fiscal pinch of his proposals - don't roll it back.

Underscoring the gravity of the nation's high employment rate, Obama chose a joint session of Congress, normally reserved for a State of the Union speech, to lay out his proposals. But if the moment was extraordinary, the plan he presented was conventional Washington rhetoric in one respect: It employs sleight-of-hand accounting.

A look at some of Obama's claims and how they compare with the facts:

OBAMA: "Everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything."

THE FACTS: Obama did not spell out exactly how he would pay for the measures contained in his nearly $450 billion American Jobs Act but said he would send his proposed specifics in a week to the new congressional supercommittee charged with finding budget savings. White House aides suggested that new deficit spending in the near term to try to promote job creation would be paid for in the future - the "out years," in legislative jargon - but they did not specify what would be cut or what revenues they would use.

Essentially, the jobs plan is an IOU from a president and lawmakers who may not even be in office down the road when the bills come due. Today's Congress cannot bind a later one for future spending. A future Congress could simply reverse it.

Currently, roughly all federal taxes and other revenues are consumed in spending on various federal benefit programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' benefits, food stamps, farm subsidies and other social-assistance programs and payments on the national debt. Pretty much everything else is done on credit with borrowed money.

So there is no guarantee that programs that clearly will increase annual deficits in the near term will be paid for in the long term.

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OBAMA: "Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans, including many who sit here tonight."

THE FACTS: Obama's proposed cut in the Social Security payroll tax does seem likely to garner significant GOP support. But Obama proposes paying for the plan in part with tax increases that have already generated stiff Republican opposition.

For instance, Obama makes a pitch anew to end Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which he has defined as couples earning over $250,000 a year or individuals over $200,000 a year. Republicans have adamantly blocked what they view as new taxes. As recently as last month, House Republicans refused to go along with any deal to raise the government's borrowing authority that included new revenues, or taxes.

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OBAMA: "It will not add to the deficit."

THE FACTS: It's hard to see how the program would not raise the deficit over the next year or two because most of the envisioned spending cuts and tax increases are designed to come later rather than now, when they could jeopardize the fragile recovery. Deficits are calculated for individual years. The accumulation of years of deficit spending has produced a national debt headed toward $15 trillion. Perhaps Obama meant to say that, in the long run, his hoped-for programs would not further increase the national debt, not annual deficits.

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OBAMA: "The American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away."

THE FACTS: Not all of the president's major proposals are likely to yield quick job growth if adopted. One is to set up a national infrastructure bank to raise private capital for roads, rail, bridges, airports and waterways. Even supporters of such a bank doubt it could have much impact on jobs in the next two years because it takes time to set up. The idea is likely to run into opposition from some Republicans who say such a bank would give the federal government too much power. They'd rather divide money among existing state infrastructure banks.

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Associated Press writer Joan Lowy contributed to this report.

Z: There's so much left out of this critique about Obama's plans, but I (And Elmer's Brother...thanks!) thought it was important enough to discuss. I know my readers can find a lot more wrong even with just the "OBAMA REMARKS" above.........some are so obviously deficient in reasons for why they're bad, that it pains me that I have too much work today to get into depth. Maybe you can help. (For instance, does anybody know how much it would help our deficit if every rich person gave all they had? Answer: nearly nothing)

If Buffet wants to be used as someone who SHOULD pay more, WHY DOESN'T HE? Is there a law about not sending the IRS MORE?

And, when Barack says we should tax harder those 'more FORTUNATE', does he mean 'fortunate' or 'harder working'? MANY of those "Fortunate" didn't sit around letting someone else study or earn their money...they EARNED this good fortune. Saying "FORTUNATE" makes it sound like they're all trust fund babies and who wouldn't rather steal from them than someone who worked hard? And, please, LET them work on plugging up loopholes: I'm okay with that.What I'm not okay with is Jeffrey Immelt sending so many jobs to China and planning to send more. Are you? (you remember, ol' Jeff, the guy sitting next to Mrs. Obama during her husband's JOBS SPEECH!? Oh, the IRONY)

Where exactly are these jobs to come from? Does Obama think that if we throw borrowed money into the air, jobs will magically rain down. If he wants to help create jobs, Obama can get the hell out of the way of free enterprise and stop trying to tinker with the economy. He can shut up, too. Every time he opens his mouth the market plummets.

When Obama's almost $Trillion stimulus plan was passed, within two weeks it was noted in financial publications that the recession had bottomed out. Obviously, the stimulus had nothing to do with that fact. So, why have things not improved since then instead of getting worse?

We are finally realizing that the economy would have come a long way to healing itself, and things would probably be better if Obama had not interfered with natural market forces.

He has interfered in the auto market, the financial markets, and has pumped money into the veritable black holes of state and local government aid. It is obvious that much of the stimulus money was meant to pay off unions for their undying support. As we all know, unions in and of themselves do not generate economic activity or create jobs.

To make matters worse, the unwise health care program the public has been railroaded into has caused huge uncertainty in the economy, and the costs will be much higher than we were told.

Obama managed to prolong the housing market problems with billions of public money when we would have been better off letting the market take care of itself.

The impending EPA regulations on carbon emissions is one of the biggest economic killers ever invented. Classifying CO2 as a pollutant when it is a naturally occurring gas that is necessary for all life on this earth stretches the bounds of credulity. There is no scientific evidence supporting the EPA's position.

Barack Obama wonders why the economy is not perking very well. The truth is that he is the problem.

Now, the President wants to launch another huge spending program with money we don't have. This is analogous to bleeding a cancer patient. His plans, today, have no more prospect of success than his other bad guesses.

Months ago, experts were complaining they didn't know where a huge part of the Stimulus Package WENT....they were asking WHERE IS THE MONEY? Why did those questions go away?

Just how much can we borrow from China, or destroy our upper and middle class, with more and more taxes? To think companies could close under the weight of taxes doesn't seem to bother this administration; particularly when they're raiding Gibson guitars instead of raiding companies deserving of being raided.

Nothing new in his so called plan. it was a re-run of the stimulus. His claims of passing the bill right now and families get $1500 a year in their pocket. That's $24 a week before taxes and at the end of the year they pay taxes on the $1500 additional income and just like the last "HUGE" cut it pushes some families into the next income tax bracket which of course means higher taxes for them. Same song, second verse....Now given the fact that inflation, the I word that Berneke and Obama say's doesn't exist will eat up the entire cut before the ink dries. 57% increase in grocery prices since Obama took office; 34% gasoline and 210% increase in the cost of clothes. It is rising daily regardless of how much spin and denial that Washington puts on it. Teachers in the class room, not a job of the Federal Government under the Constitution but a great payback for UNIONISTA's , same with school construction. Those are duties of the States. Roll back the nonsense NCLB and States could use the money spent to comply with the regulations to hire teachers and build schools.

So he said nothing new. The same old Tax the rich and corporation will not fly in this economy. The last time the corporate tax was raised sucessfully in an economy such as this was in WW2 and the boom saved it then.

there goes Bd name calling again.That's the defense the left uses for Obama's inept ability to be in an executive position.This presidency was the biggest fraud ever pulled on the American people.He lies and his followers don't even care about it or just purposely ignore it and then call anyone who questions him a liar like he is some kind of royalty worthy of protecting no matter what he does. It truly is remarkable.More Union jobs ,higher taxes. People who aren't working need jobs,all people,not just teachers,not just construction workers. Americans want to see a president who has a plan not one who has an ideology . I feel like we already had 8 years of this president and it hasn't even been 3 years.

Nobody is mentioning on the right that infrastructure jobs don't employ that many people anymore. Because we have... machines. Mostly made by the company Obama was raving about: Caterpillar. Huge monsters that do the job of 10, 20, 30 people. Do you see many people when a highway is being built? I see a lot of humongous machines.

The left is stuck in the New Deal era thinking technology hasn't evolved.

To create jobs, you need to create productivity increases. Productivity ties to innovation. You need to invest in industries where profit margins are high to create nice paying jobs.

I am not denying the need for infrastructure, but those industries are not the same ones as the New Deal's. It's IT, healthcare, science, energy (even green but nobody wants to buy it.)

But let's give him a break. He is advised with people like Krugman The Hobbit.

Stimulus 1 didn’t work, neither did Stimulus 2, neither did his bail outs, or his clunker program, etc., etc. and etc. If they want "Change" then maybe Moochie should spend some of her vacation money (10 Million dollars) in the USA. Instead of in Africa and Spain, Latin America, Ireland, and in Great Britain.That might Stimulate the Economy!

What I'm not okay with is Jeffrey Immelt sending so many jobs to China and planning to send more. Are you? (you remember, ol' Jeff, the guy sitting next to Mrs. Obama during her husband's JOBS SPEECH!? Oh, the IRONY)

Oh yeah, Z, I do remember ol' Jeff, and I guess it just goes to show that at least SOME people are reaping the benefits of SOMETHING.

"General Electric Co. Chairman and CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt's 2010 compensation more than doubled to $15.2 million as the company benefited from a recovering economy"

I love this, Bd....go ahead, here's a place you can post point after point where it's a lie, yet, you copy/paste the same stupid comment and run :-)You're sort of like the mainstream media, arenthcha!!

FB, the SOLYNDRA situation will be ignored by the mainstream media and IT IS HUGE.Of course, the leftwingies now will come and deny it, but that's as stupid as denying the Gibson Guitars thing was innocent, too :-)

Yes, SOlyndra lost tons of dough...our gov't backed them with tons of dough we'll not get back now, but SOLYNDRA is GREEN and though the expert government people warned Obama DO NOT INVEST IN SOLYNDRA, he felt he knew better!

This is rather like someone coming into YOUR CHECKBOOK and MINE and saying "Hey, you need to invest in THIS company....no problem with what your broker said, just DO IT......" and now you've lost a ton.

This is a generalized version of precisely what President Obama is proposing -- a $447 billion jobs bill that will increase spending on hiring programs, and reduce payroll taxes; accompanied by deficit reduction measures that take effect in 2013, to more than cover the cost of the jobs bill.

First there's a limit on itemized deductions and certain exemptions for individuals who earn over $200,000, and families earning over $250,000. That limitation raises roughly $400 billion over 10 years.

There is a provision that would treat carried interest -- that's the interest earned by investment fund managers -- as ordinary income, rather than taxing it at the capital gains rate. And that would raise $18 billion.

There are a number of oil and gas provisions, which, collectively, raise $40 billion. That would -- with the enactment of these provisions, would treat the oil and gas industry like other industries, taking away the special preference. And finally, the corporate jet depreciation rule is changed. Right now corporate jets are depreciated over five years; commercial over seven. It would treat commercial and corporate jets the same, at five years. That raises $3 billion.

In the aggregate, these provisions actually raise $467 billion. It intentionally overachieves because these are based on our estimates internally. When the Congress estimates tax provisions, and we estimate tax provisions, they rarely are pinpoint-accurate to the same number. Sometimes they're higher; sometimes they're lower. And it just built in a cushion so that as we go through the process of having the scoring done on the Hill, we’ve built in a cushion for the differences that happen. But we do believe we’ve overachieved, which would leave a bit of excess.

Actually the unemployment is closer to 17% according to the U 6 labor dept stats. It was under 10 under Bush so Braindead where are the jobs that dumbass created? Facts speak louder than a Braindead fool.http://portalseven.com/employment/unemployment_rate_u6.jsp

This is rather like someone coming into YOUR CHECKBOOK and MINE and saying "Hey, you need to invest in THIS company....no problem with what your broker said, just DO IT......" and now you've lost a ton.

It would help if you actually produced some, rather than a plagiarized portion of White House propaganda (which has already been shredded thoroughly in a variety of places).

Also, plagiarism is a bad thing. Cite your sources. Not that I expect you to have any integrity, but I thought I would mention it anyway. If you're going to plagiarize, at least alter the text so that it is as clumsy and dull-witted as what we have come to expect from you.

Bd, you're joking, right?YOu don't know facts if they bite you in the butt.

Bastiatarian, welcome! I hope other of my readers visit your site; it's a very good one. As you know, I very much like your comments at Silverfiddle's and am glad you're here.Imagine quoting from JAY CARNEY as it those are the facts? Poor Bd :-)

We in Australia have a similar leader, it's gotten to the point where most of us just don't even listen to the liar anymore, we just change the channel or turn the volume down when we hear her nasal condescending voice.

Has it gotten to that point in America yet, do many of you just turn off when obama starts firing off platitudes from his teleprompter?

MK, oh, YOU BET. I don't know very many people who can stand to watch him anymore. Honestly, he's such a whiner and SUCH an Alinsky-ite. He's creating a horrible class warfare and more racism than ever before; and the Right gets accused of racism because we don't adore a Socialist?grrr

FrogBurger, that IS saying a lot.What do you think of the CHirac trials?

There are no hiring programs in the plan. There are spending programs and tax increases. Payroll tax reductions, I believe, are just being extended.

Their plans are to funnel Billions through state and local governments, but any jobs created by this mechanism will become permanent only by being funded by more taxes, paid by state and local taxpayers. This is lose-lose economics.

Any money that actually makes it through this government filter is targeted to fix ailing infrastructure. Fixing existing infrastructure does not produce any new economic activity except in the concrete and steel industries, and only temporarily. Very few jobs in industry will be created.

Example:

The City of Philadelphia received ONE BILLION DOLLARS in stimulus one. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent to pay down the debt of SEPTA (South East Pa. Transit Authority) and the City of Philadelphia transit company.

The transit systems operate at deficits, so all we have done is subsidize the bus and train fares of Philly residents. Only $8 million was spent on private job producing projects, and only 144 real jobs were created. Source - Philadelphia news papers.

All those union jobs at the transit companies were "saved". The whole thing was an exercise in political payoffs designed to keep union jobs.

The increase in economic activity immediately after passing the stimulus cannot be attributed to anything Obama did. That was before any significant spending took place. The economic activity was pretty much a natural thing of the economy trying to right itself.

What you are looking at is called, "churn", and it is the natural variations in economic activity seen during good times and bad times. Yes, companies are always hiring and firing, buying and selling. Obama was not even on the playing field.

Don't look for any significant improvement in the economy due to his recent plans. Doing the same thing, over and over, and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

Here is an interesting Forbes article by Bill Frezza about government infrastructure projects. He gives a little history on Abraham Lincoln's transcontinental railroad (bankrupt), and expounds on the current clean tech energy scams.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away fromextinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must befought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day wewill spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children whatit was once like in the United States where men werefree." -- Ronald Reagan

remember

Andrew Breitbart...American Hero

Mac 'n GeeeZis my food blog...enjoy! Sorry I haven't added to it in a long while.

President Obama has done such a horrible job with the economy and foreign policy that now Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the United States :-)

important reminders:

We are surrounded by IDIOTS...Mr. Z

“Barack Obama's political genius is his ability to say things that will sound good to people who have not followed the issues in any detail —regardless of how obviously fraudulent what he says may be to those who have. Shameless effrontery can be a huge political asset, especially if uninformed voters outnumber those who are informed.” Thomas Sowell.........AMENTolerance is the last virtue of a dying society. (doesn't matter who wrote it, it's true and it's here)

The modern definition of 'racist' is someone who is winning an argument with a liberal.... Peter Brimelow

The difference between golf and government is that in golf you can't improve your lie. ~George Deukmejian

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